The BIG3 season-opener turned out to be just what basketball junkies hoped for

NEW YORK — The throwback jerseys filled the floor seats, most of the lower bowl and even part of the upper deck at Barclays Center. Fans came to see something new, a basketball league invented for people who used to love basketball, and they came wearing the gear of their favorites.

They came to see Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin, Jason Williams, Mike Bibby — OK, for many it was mostly Iverson — but they came also to see what the heck the BIG3 was all about.

And they left happy, if almost as exhausted as the players.

BIG3’s inaugural event — a four-game afternoon of 3-on-3 basketball brought to you by Ice Cube and a bunch of retired NBA players — was nothing short of a success. The Brooklyn crowd topped 15,000 and included Whoopi Goldberg, LL Cool J, James Harden and Paul Pierce. Those stars came to see their old stars, same as the fans, and they came to see basketball the way they remembered it.

That’s what they got.

Those not in attendance can watch BIG3’s first games Monday night on Fox Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET) in tape delay. That should be an interesting experience in its own right because of the tape-delay nature. But here’s a look at what those who came to the games got to see — with no actual results spoilers (though if you want statistics and scores, click here).

1. It was physical.

You know how every time old players are asked about the modern NBA, they talk about how soft the league is now? It was almost like these guys were out to prove that.

The BIG3 decided to legalize hand-check defense, which hasn’t been allowed in the NBA for 15 years. The result was that almost every shot came with a shove, and players were pushed off passes repeatedly. Yes, it made for ugly play at times, but it also made for some compelling intensity. These old guys were really trying.

And it worked. In three of the four games, the team that attempted fewer 3- and 4-pointers won. Big men Kwame Brown, Jerome Williams and Reggie Evans were among the most effective players of the day. The post game came to play.

So how physical did it get? Well, that question led to a funny exchange between team Power’s Williams (known as “Junkyard Dog” or “JYD,” then and now) and Cuttino Mobley, with coach Clyde Drexler chiming in:

Williams: “This was a lot less physical than ’96. This was less physical than ’96.”
Mobley: “Bullshit.”
Drexler: “I agree with him!”
Williams: “You came in in ’97.”
Mobley: “I came in ’99, but —”
Williams: “Ahh, it’s fun basketball. There’s so much — listen, when I came in the league, they had the hand-check, there was grabbing, I played in the playoffs. It was ‘Zo, Patrick, Oakley, Karl Malone — that, I’ll take that any day of the week.”

That @JunkYardDogJW dunk was nice but how ’bout the dime by @CuttinosLife @thebig3 debuts tomorrow at 8 PM ET on FS1 pic.twitter.com/CJRhgxBJYU

— FS1 (@FS1) June 26, 2017

Other players complained a bit about the refs before admitting they missed this kind of physicality. The fans agreed — and it’s hard to blame them when you consider the scene of watching 40-something-year-old men diving for loose balls and throwing elbows like they’re 24.

2. Most people were in good shape.

OK, not Iverson. “The Answer” is the unquestioned face of the league, alongside Ice Cube, but he warned us not to expect too much. Then he showed up, playing his first competitive basketball in five years, and shot 1-for-6 in limited minutes, totaling two points and two assists.

“The playing part is not going to be what you expect,” Iverson said. “I’m 42 years old. I’ve been retired for seven years. The only reason that I get out there for the couple minutes that I do get out there is for the fans. You’re not going to see the Allen Iverson of old out there.”

However, for a league of middle-age millionaires (or ex-millionaires, in some cases), these guys looked ready to play.

No one seemed more in shape than Rashard Lewis, who was arguably the best NBA player other than Iverson in this league for Week 1. (Chauncey Billups missed the weekend because he is a candidate to be Cleveland Cavaliers general manager.) But we came away impressed with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Jermaine O’Neal, Al Harrington, DeShawn Stevenson and even lesser-known Andre Owens and Derrick Byars.

That doesn’t mean it was always pretty — and injuries to Jason Williams and Corey Maggette put a damper on things — but let’s just say these guys could still dominate your pickup game.

3. It was long.

Here’s the one area that the BIG3 can improve on very quickly: Make it first to 40 instead of first to 60. The event took more than five hours for those in attendance — including a pretty great Fabolous concert between the second and third games. If you ate lunch before the 1 p.m. start, you’d be ready for dinner by the time the final game ended.

That might actually be good news for those watching at home. Five hours of footage should make for a pretty compelling slimmed-down three-hour TV event. One of the biggest delays was constantly bringing the ball back to the top to reset after ever basket.

But the remarkable thing was that the crowd stayed engaged, particularly through the highly competitive first two games and then when Iverson came in. (Again, no spoiling results.) There were also clearly audible cheers when Harden, Pierce and Iverson walked through the building while not playing.

For The Win spoke with numerous fans throughout the event. The consensus was that it was all worth it, even if they were mostly here for “The Answer.” That’s good news for the league because a successful first season is key to getting other players on Iverson’s level involved in future seasons.

This was a basketball event for a basketball crowd. Conversations around the concourse ranged from whether the New York Knicks should maybe consider trading Kristaps Porzingis to whether Kobe Bryant or Vince Carter would be better in the BIG3. If you’re the type of person who passionately loved the NBA in the 1990s and 2000s, if you’re the type of person who misses the NBA during the summer, this league is worth your time.

If not, as Cube would say, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself.